Live Targets

Oops, someone did it again; used live animals as targets. This time, it was turkeys.

Dozens of domestic turkeys were staked to bales of straw and used as live targets at an archery contest, according to authorities who charged a sportsmen’s club with violating animal cruelty laws.

The birds were secured at their feet but able to flap their wings as participants paid $12 for three attempts to hit one with an arrow. Those who drew blood won the birds, said Christine Wilson, a Lancaster County assistant district attorney.

I thought Pennsylvanians learned there lesson in 1999. Does anyone remember the Hegins Pigeon Shoot?

Pennsylvania has a long, controversial history of battling pigeon shoots. In 1999, the infamous Hegins Pigeon shoot in Schuylkill County ended after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled that humane officers could prosecute shoot participants for animal cruelty. The opinion issued by the court characterized pigeon shoots as “cruel and moronic.”